LCD or DLP?

Sony's new SXRD, which is a type of LCOS is highly recommended. List for 50 inch is $3999, but you should be able to get 15-20% off that if you know your dealer well. I just purchased the 60 inch version, and it is outstanding. Plasma may be better in some ways, but you will pay for it. Happy hunting.

The LCD screens may have less 'color artifacts' than a LCP screen. Best thing is to look close at the screen (as well as the obvious sit-down-and-watch tests).

I HIGHLY recommend the Panasonic Plasmas or the Sony LCOS SXRD display. DLP and LCD don't measure up in my opinion.

Have fun!

Neither. The new Sony SXRD (LYCOS)is better than any LCD or DLP I've seen. You need at least 10-12 feet of viewing distance from the front of the set which is 19" deep. If you don't have the viewing distance (sony sxrd starts at 50")look at a smaller 42" plasma or dlp.

Samsung just introduced a new 1080P set with a 1 chip DLP that doesn't use a color wheel at CES.

Unsound - very interesting. It's the color wheel which degrades things slightly. No color wheel should be better.

I believe it will use 1 each of red, green, blue LED's.

The Texas Instruments presentation on the single and triple color wheel appraoch was interesting at CES--BUT-- although improved in many areas- the DLPs do not measure up. 3 LCD technology is looking good. Plasma continues to progress, but the real winner at CES was SED technology;

I compared the Sony SXRD with the JVC D-ila (?) and the Sony was by far the better picture. I stood within inches of the screen an struggled to see any pixels. Savin' my pennies.

I have Sony GW-IV which is a LCD rear projection. SXRD is a big step up in SDE, but SSE is still there and so does DLP.

My personal favorite is plasma, it has the most natural color balance that's film like. If you don't need to go above 50", plasma is the way to go.

Neither LCD or DLP...with the prices of plasmas falling you can probably get a very nice HD set for well under $3000.00...you just have to look around!...good luck!

Rysa4 is SED technology out on the market?

Thanks guys!

My takeaway thus far. LCD has better picture quality than DLP, with the possible exception of Samsung's new 1 chip DLP. The Sony SXRD is outstanding. Is SXRD a DLP or LCD?

Muchos gracias amigos.

DB,

In addition to the SXRD sets, I would also recommend looking at the HP 1080p DLP sets. Of the currently available DLPs, they seem to get the best comments at www.avsforum.com, and each technology has its own plusses and minuses.

If you are not in a big hurry to purchase, I would read the CES reports to see what may be coming out this year before making a decision.

Thanks
Bruce

Dawgbyte,

SXRD is Sony's name for what is essentially a LCoS technology. LCoS/SXRD is a form of reflective LCD technology. LCD technology involves a chip whose pixels are composed of long molecules that twist when an electric charge is applied. That twist determines if light will be blocked or passed through freely. The difference with LCoS is that instead of just passing or blocking light, there is a mirror surface on the back of the chip. When it is in the "pass through" mode, light passes through the front layer, reflects off the back and comes back through the front layer. Unfortunately, in the "block" mode, not all of the light is completely blocked. The advantage of LCoS over transmissive LCD is that by forcing the light to pass through twice, light is more thoroughly blocked so black levels are MUCH better. Transmissive LCDs can be made to block more light by making the layer thicker, but the thicker the layer, the longer time it takes for the chip to react to changes. So, the tradeoff is speed vs. black level. There is simply less need to trade off one or the other with LCoS.

I visited Circuit City and Best Buy this week and looked extensively at the pictures on all of their big screen plasmas, LCD's, DLP rear projection, LCD rear projection, LCoS rear projection, including the JVC I-LA, and Sonys 50" SXRD.Prices ranged from $1,499.00 to about $10,000.00.
Conclusion: The Sony 50" SXRD LCoS rear projection TV had overall the best picture resolution, contrast, deep blacks, and color accuracy in my friends, as well as my own opinion,
by a comfortable margin, and at a relatively reasonable price...Can be had for less than $3,000 delivered on the web!
I agree totally with the review of the Sony in the November 2005 issue of Sound and Vision magazine.
I am saving my pennies as well!

SAMSUNG HL-R5078W IS ALSO AWESOME, BUT, IMHO, SONY SXRD IS CURRENTLY THE WAY TO GO!
WOW!!!

Dawgbyte,

FYI, I've always felt DLP is better than rear projection LCD, and I think this is especially true today with the 1080p DLPs. I have not video-auditioned any LCOS sets (I purchased my two DLP sets before LCOS became a viable option).

As I mentioned earlier, each technology has plusses and minuses- there is no perfect choice. I suggest perusing www.avsforum.com see what they are saying, both good and bad, about each technology/each manufacturer.

Thanks
Bruce

Daltonlanny - what website do recommend for purchasing a TV? I thought the 50" SXRD was like $10K.

What do you guys think of this statement?

"DVDs are designed for 480p which matches even what EDTV is capable of. HDTV exceeds DVD capability but more closely matches the new Blue-Ray discs that may come out soon. Why do poeple buy 1080p? One reason is because they plan to use a PC to power it for pictures and whatnot. Another might be planning for the future. My guess is that eventually, content will be broadcast in 1080p, but that will likely be 5-10 years from now. Or...you could plan for the future and get 1080p knowing that when content is available, your TV will handle it. I opted out of that route because I didn't want to spend $$ now for utility in some unknown future. If I were 10years younger, I would have gone for the 1080p so I could point at it and say, "It's 1080p..." But now I'm old...40 as you know... Remember Spinal Tap...."but it goes to 11..."

It sounds like content is an issue with 1080p televisions, as they won't project the current DVD format. That's a serious issue for me since I have several hundred DVD's in my library.

Here is my vote, based on a recent purchase.

Canon Realis SX50

Here is their press release

Simply put, it is amazing.

Jack

Dawgbyte,

We already have plenty of examples of high def TVs with a higher native resolution than DVD sources: 720p sets. 480i DVD sources are simply deinterlaced/rescaled to match the native resolution of the TV, and in my opinion, 720p sets do a great job with DVDs. There is no magic involved, as the rescaling does not turn 480i DVDs into high def DVDs, it just provides a means to display the images. I like to think of having a higher native resolution TV as similar to halftone printing in newspapers. The finer the halftone dot pattern, the better the image looks when printed.

From what I have read, the 1080p sets do an even better job than 720p sets, not because of the higher native resolution per se, but because they have less screen door effect, better contrast, and in at least some sets better black levels.

Bruce

Dawgbyte,
You must be thinking that I am talking about the first generation Sony SXRD rear projection tv.
I am not.
I am talking about the newest latest generation Sony KDS-R50XBR1 SXRD 50" LCoS rear projection tv.
Retail is $4,000.00, not $10,000.00 or higher.
Go to www.ecoustics.com.
In the upper right hand corner it will ask: What are you looking for?
Punch in: Sony KDS-R50XBR1
It will show you a complete listing of retailers and their prices, as well as reviews and customer reviews.
As you can see, it can be had for less than $3,000.00 DELIVERED!
Hope this helps.

Check this out.

Frankg: I've seen the link and will likely go SED in the future. I'm just waiting to see if they have to work out any bugs with the technology first ... Until then I'll have to suffer the Canon Realis.

It does look very promising, though, doesn't it?

Jack

SXRD is a LCos dispay. SED is not yet commercially available. And the first ones may not be over 36 inches, although promises of prototypes by years end at 55inch are flying around.

1. SED- Possible technology of the future. I was at CES and didnt get a chance to stop by the SED displays but heard they are pretty awesome. Not yet available, and probably wont impact the market at reasonable pricing for larger displays for at least 2-3 years.

2. Resolution and DVDs-upscaling a native DVD is an inherent problem for a HDMI connection. I would use component. This has to do with the color decoders on the display. It decodes a 480i/p signal just fine. And will decode a hi def DVD 1080i/p just fine as well. But an upscaled 480i/p DVD that presents itself as a 720P or 1080i upconverted signal will confuse the HDMI handshake and give a potential color decoding inaccuracy. This may not be true for every set in the future but is a very real problem today. The problem scenario is a regular DVD in an upscaling DVD player displaying to a 720p or 1080p display connected via HDMI.

SONY DIRECT VIEW CRT or SONY SXRD LCoS???
Has anyone compared the picture on the direct view CRT KD-34XBR960 with the picture on the newest Sony KDS-R50XBR1 SXRD LCoS rear projection unit?
If so, what are the differences, advantages, and disadvantages in their picture quality?
Thanks.